Department for International Development

Pakistan: Overseas Aid

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much UK aid has been received by Pakistan in the past 12 months and in total over the past 20 years; whether any other country receives more bilateral aid than Pakistan; and what indicators are used to establish the effectiveness of this aid in reaching the country’s religious minorities.

lord bates: DFID Pakistan’s budget for 2017-18 is £325m. Cumulatively, DFID has spent £2.8bn on aid to Pakistan for years 1997 to 2016. Details of year end spend for each country can be found in the Statistics on International Development (SIDS) report.   Our development assistance targets the poor, regardless of race, religion, social background or nationality. We have in place robust indicators as part of mandatory monitoring arrangements to ensure UK aid reaches the intended beneficiaries and is not being used in ways that encourage or promote prejudice or discrimination against religious or other minorities. Details of indicators for individual programmes are available on the devtracker website.

Pakistan: Minority Groups

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what training programmes in Pakistan they support to help illiterate and impoverished members of minority communities to qualify for jobs.

lord bates: The Department for International Development’s Skills Development Programme funds the Punjab Skills Development Fund to provide technical and vocational skills training to poor and vulnerable Pakistanis, including those from minority communities, to help them to qualify for jobs or make self-employment more profitable. 178 training courses are currently being delivered on a range of subjects, for example on hospitality services, construction, manufacturing, and textile production.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities

baroness anelay of st johns: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to mark the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities; and whether such plans will reflect this year's focus on empowering persons with disabilities for an inclusive, equitable and sustainable development as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

lord bates: The Department for International Development will mark the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3rd December by launching DFID’s new Disability Strategy at an event co-hosted with the BOND Disability and Development Group. The Strategy sets the empowerment of all people with disabilities at its centre, reflecting the UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Many DFID offices around the world will also be marking the day with national events.

Ministry of Justice

Prison Officers

lord bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prison officers have been sent on detached duty to fill staffing gaps in other prisons in the last 12 months.

lord keen of elie: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. It is not possible to identify how many prison officers have been on detached duty during the past twelve months as some will have been deployed on multiple occasions. The period of deployment can vary from two to fourteen weeks.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Local Government: Fuels

lord jones of cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to prioritise deliveries of fuel to local authorities after Brexit so that crucial local services, including public safety and waste collection and disposal, continue to operate.

lord henley: Her Majesty’s Government has been implementing a significant programme of work to ensure the UK will be ready to leave the European Union from day one in all scenarios, including in the unlikely event of a ‘No Deal’ scenario in March 2019. Our priority is to maintain (as close as possible) normal fuel deliveries in any of these scenarios.The Government believes that in most circumstances the fuel industry is well positioned to respond to disruptions to the supply chain from whatever cause. However, we also have a longstanding, all-risks National Emergency Plan for Fuel, which includes schemes for prioritising the delivery of fuel for essential services.

Intellectual Property

lord smith of finsbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it is their intention that UK Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys should continue to have rights of representation in EU countries, whatever the outcome of the Brexit negotiations might be.

lord henley: We firmly believe it is in the interests of both the EU and UK to strike a deal and we remain confident that we will agree a mutually advantageous deal with the EU. In this scenario the UK’s market access to the EU will continue on current terms during a time limited implementation period, including UK practitioners’ rights of representation. However, in the absence of any withdrawal agreement with the EU, arrangements for representation before the EU bodies and in EU Member States will be a matter for the EU and its Member States. Rights of representation before the European Patent Office will not be affected by EU exit, as this is not an EU body.

European Union Intellectual Property Office

lord smith of finsbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will seek to continue the UK's participation in the EU Intellectual Property Office after the UK leaves the EU.

lord henley: The Government has set out its broad position on the future economic relationship with the EU, including on intellectual property, in the White Paper published on 12 July 2018. The final outcome is subject to future negotiations with the European Union.

Art Works: Royalties

lord stevenson of balmacara: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend that the UK will continue to (1) operate the Artist's Resale Right, and (2) participate in the EU Resale Right Directive 2001/84/EC after the UK leaves the EU.

lord henley: The (Artists’) Resale Right Directive will be retained in UK law through the European Union (Withdrawal) Act, which means that UK artists and estates will continue to enjoy its benefits.

International Science and Technology Centre and Science and Technology Centre in Ukraine

viscount waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what relationship the UK will have with (1) the International Science and Technology Centre, and (2) the Science and Technology Centre in Ukraine following the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

lord henley: The UK is currently funding one project with the International Science and Technology Centre which is due to conclude in March 2019, and is not currently working on any projects with the Science and Technology Centre in Ukraine. Following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, we would consider whether to fund projects with these organisations on a case by case basis, depending on their importance for meeting our international non-proliferation and security objectives.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Israel: Bedouin

lord judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) representations they are making to the government of Israel, and (2) steps they are taking in concert with other parties, to prevent the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​At Prime Minister’s Questions on 17 October, the Prime Minister reiterated the UK’s strong opposition to Israel’s proposed demolition of Khan al-Ahmar and urged Israel to reconsider these plans. The Minister for the Middle East and North Africa also raised concerns with the Israeli Ambassador to the UK on 11 October. We also issued a statement on 10 September along with France, Germany, Spain and Italy reiterating our call to the Israeli Government not to go ahead with its plan to demolish the village – including its school – and displace its residents.

Jerusalem: Palestinians

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel about the Israeli municipality reportedly not issuing enough permits for Palestinian residential construction in East Jerusalem to avoid overcrowding.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We raise this issue routinely. The Government recognises that Palestinians face severe difficulty in securing building permissions for homes and infrastructure in East Jerusalem and Area C. We continue to urge the Government of Israel to develop improved mechanisms for zoning, planning and issuing permits for the benefit of the Palestinian population, including by facilitating local Palestinian participation in such processes.

Jerusalem: Palestinians

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel regarding the reported assault and damage in East Jerusalem caused by Israeli settlers.

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel regarding the reported prevention by Israeli forces of Palestinians from defending their property.

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel regarding theviolence of Israeli settlers towards Palestinians in the West Bank.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Government condemns any violence by settlers against Palestinians. We note the efforts of Israeli authorities to tackle settler violence, and urge thorough investigation of every instance to bring those responsible to justice. We have also stressed to the Israeli authorities the importance of Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population from settler violence and intimidation.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Written Questions

lord balfe: To ask Her Majesty's Government whattrainingthey provide to officials drafting responses to parliamentary written questions in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​As well as Civil Service wide e-learning on drafting written parliamentary questions (PQs), the FCO provides a variety of departmental, issues based, bespoke, one-to-one and on-the-job training and guidance on PQs and drafting.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Written Questions

lord balfe: To ask Her Majesty's Government what quality assurance process is followed in approving draft responses to parliamentary questions for written answer in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: All Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) responses to House of Lords written parliamentary questions (PQs) are quality controlled to make sure they conform to: the 'Companion to the Standing Orders and Guide to the Proceedings of the House of Lords' paragraph 6.42; Cabinet Office PQ Guidance; and internal FCO Best Practice Guidance. PQs are cleared by: a Senior (SMS grade) Manager in the drafting department; officials in Ministerial Private Offices and the Parliamentary Relations Department; Special Advisers; the Minister responsible for the subject area; and the answering Minister.

Turkey: Detainees

lord balfe: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 18 September (HL9904), what factors, in addition to the charge and length of detention, they take into account when deciding whether to raise cases of persons in detention with the government of Turkey; whether those factors include the profession of those detained; and if so, what professions are most relevant.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: My answer of 18 September 2018 ​(HL 9904) set out the factors we consider when deciding to raise cases with the Turkish authorities, namely the nature of the charge and length of sentence. The profession of the detainee is not a factor in our decision-making.

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

lord luce: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House (1) the overview of outcomes agreed at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018, and (2) the overview of projects announced by the UK in support of the outcome from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018.

lord luce: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the timescales and resources allocated to each of the projects announced by the UK in support of the outcomes from theCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK announced over £500 million of projects under four themes outlined below to support commitments made at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in April 2018:fairness (£235 million), including £212 million to support nine Commonwealth member states deliver 12 years of quality education for girls;security (£37 million), including £5.5 million to enhance cyber security by assisting member states identify and address vulnerabilities and gaps in capacity;sustainability (£172 million), including £66.4 million to support member states to reduce plastic pollution of the oceans; andprosperity (£105 million), including £7 million to promote women’s economic empowerment supporting women-owned businesses to trade internationally.An overview of CHOGM commitments and the projects designed to fulfil them will be placed in the Library of the House. These projects will be delivered throughout the UK’s two years as Chair-in-Office of the Commonwealth.

Zelimkhan Bakaev

baroness barker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to authorities in Chechnya regarding the disappearance of Zelim Bakeav in August 2017.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK remains deeply concerned by the disappearance of Zelim Bakaev and the persecution of many other individuals in Chechnya due to their sexual orientation. Together with our international partners, we continue to raise our serious concerns with the Russian authorities in a number of multilateral fora – including the UN, Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe for the release and safe return of all those abducted and urging them to investigate fully and bring those responsible to justice.